Mayor’s Alleged Crimes Jolt Scandal-Weary Town

The mayor is in jail, accused of sex crimes involving two young girls.

Despite the severity of the charges, Philip A. Giordano for weeks has insisted that he would be back at work any day. But in a deal cut Tuesday, the 38-year-old Republican agreed to relinquish his authority and not return to City Hall.

“He’s only mayor to the extent that he calls himself mayor to his friends in the penitentiary,” said board of aldermen chief Sam S.G. Caligiuri, who temporarily has assumed Giordano’s job.

Exactly where that penitentiary is is not known. Giordano was whisked away late last month after federal agents arrested him for allegedly enticing 9- and 10-year-old cousins to perform sex acts. He already was under surveillance in connection with a corruption investigation when the FBI charged him with using an “interstate facility”--apparently his computer or cellular telephone--in the course of committing sex crimes.

Details of the allegations have not been revealed; a federal judge has denied Giordano bail and is keeping a tight lid on the case. But around here, the crimes are described as heinous, “off the radar,” in the view of Gov. John Rowland, a Waterbury native and fellow Republican.

Crooked officials are nothing new in financially troubled Waterbury, where Giordano is the third consecutive mayor to have trouble with the law. But the nature of the latest scandal has set this hardscrabble old mill town reeling.

“I think the whole city--everybody here, especially parents--is having trouble believing this,” Caligiuri said. “Even his harshest enemies, and he has many, are surprised.”

If convicted, Giordano faces a minimum fine of $250,000 and up to 10 years in prison.

State officials also are considering action against the married father of three. And a Waterbury attorney representing the girls has said he will sue both Giordano and the city. But, lawyer Gerald Harmon acknowledged, it might be hard to collect much from a city that is nearly bankrupt. (Waterbury is in such dire straits that a state board last spring took over its finances.)

“I definitely don’t think any of this is a reflection of the city itself, and certainly none of it reflects the people of Waterbury,” Harmon said. “This is a hard-working, blue-collar town. People here are just as shocked as anywhere.”

Businessman Mike Jarjura, a Democratic state representative who actually wants to be mayor of this city of 100,000, conceded: “Our political leadership has not been very good at managing the city.”

Jarjura and Giordano went to rival parochial schools here. As politicians, they rubbed elbows for years. But the latest news about Giordano makes Jarjura wonder, “Does anybody ever really know anybody?”

Still, he said the mayor’s ignominy couldn’t really shame Waterbury.

“We don’t have any more eyes to blacken; we’ve already had too many,” he said.

For weeks, city officials despaired of a way to remove Giordano from office. Even from his prison cell, they pointed out, he could have vetoed action calling for his ouster. Rowland and other top Connecticut Republicans repeatedly joined in the cry for Giordano to step down.

Calls to his lawyer, Andrew Bowman, went unreturned. The board of aldermen said Tuesday that the agreement allows Giordano to keep his title, benefits and half of his $83,500 yearly pay. Caligiuri said the board decided to accept that deal rather than launch a costly impeachment investigation that probably would not have concluded before Giordano’s term expires Dec. 31. Before his arrest, Giordano had announced he would not seek a fourth term.

Caligiuri said that Giordano, who up until now has collected his full salary while behind bars, would be paid about $13,900 through the end of the year.

“He’s concerned for his family,” Caligiuri explained.

Only recently, Caligiuri said, Giordano made a collect call to City Hall from his jail cell, vowing to be back at work soon. From his interim quarters in the mayor’s office, Caligiuri reluctantly took Giordano’s call when several others refused to accept the charges. “It was pretty uncomfortable,” the acting mayor said.

In arresting Giordano on allegations of sex crimes, federal authorities aborted an investigation focused on questionable payoffs and improper towing contracts. Cronyism in handing out civic contracts was suspected, and even the town’s $1-million dog pound--built over a sewage plant--was under examination.

Financial irregularities are almost a civic tradition here. In the 1920s, Rowland’s uncle became a Waterbury hero when, as city comptroller, he uncovered a corruption scheme that sent the then-mayor to jail.

More recently, Mayor Edward Bergin was indicted and found not guilty in 1991 of taking a payoff for a towing contract. His successor, Joseph Santopietro, was convicted of accepting cash from bankers seeking city approval of development projects. After Santopietro went to jail, Bergin once again won office as mayor. He was defeated by Giordano in 1995.

Caligiuri, a Republican, said he has no interest in running for the job. But he has begun sending out new property tax assessments, the first in 20 years. He also has promised to look at how labor contracts are assigned, starting with tow trucks.

Even in Waterbury, the newspaper columnists here joke, Giordano is innocent until proved guilty. But as Caligiuri observed: “Everyone here understands that the charges against Giordano are allegations. But this stuff doesn’t just come up by accident.”

According to federal rules, a grand jury could wait weeks--if not months--before indicting Giordano. He remains in prison pending the grand jury’s action.